Innocence Betrayed
by DragonShadow
Summary: Reposted after the ban of NC-17 fics forced DragonSickness off of FF.Net. The girls are excited about Soccer practice until Bubbles begins acting strange.


Innocence Betrayed  
  
  
The sun shone down brightly as it did every day as the Powerpuff Girls got ready for their first soccer practice. They got a lot of exercise fighting monsters and stopping bad guys of course, but they didn't get to really play with other kids and interact with them. So The Professor had given them a choice of after school activities. Buttercup had wanted Football, Blossom Baseball, and Bubbles Gymnastics. Finally they'd compromised and settled on Soccer, which they figured was somewhere between all those other activities.  
  
"Are you ready girls?" The Professor's voice floated up to them from the living room while the girls rushed to get their soccer uniforms on. They weren't color coordinated like the rest of the girls' outfits, which really pissed off Buttercup at first, but they were getting used to the idea. They were white shirts with the letters P.O. on them and black shorts.  
  
"Coming Professor!" Blossom replied steadily as she turned to her sisters. "Well let's get going, we don't want to be late for our first session." Buttercup and Bubbles nodded in agreement, so they floated down the stairs to the living room where Professor Utonium was waiting for them.  
  
"Come on girls." He said as he opened the front door to let them all head out to the car. The girls could have easily flown, and they probably would fly from then on, but he wanted to go with them and make sure everything was alright at least this once. They piled into the car quickly and strapped themselves in before the Professor took off down the street, rushing a bit to get to where they were going.  
  
When they finally reached the designated playing field they found all the other girls already standing in a group in front of a taller man, presumably the coach. Professor Utonium laid his hands on his girls backs as they walked up to the group. The coach turned to look down at them with a smile that was surprisingly gentle with his rough looking face.  
  
"You must be the Powerpuff Girls, I was wondering when you would show up." The coach said, looking up at the Professor.  
  
"Yeah sorry, we're a little late today, it won't happen again." The Professor replied with a sheepish grin.  
  
"Ah no worries." The coach told him while he looked down at the girls again. He almost seemed to be studying them intently, like he was wondering whether he should really accept these new athletes. "You three do know you're not allowed to use your superpowers during the game right?" He asked.  
  
"Oh of course, we would never think of cheating. Right girls?" Blossom remarked. Buttercup and Bubbles nodded with agreement.  
  
"Alright well then I guess we can get started." The coach said with another gentle smile. Buttercup frowned at the formalities and Blossom nodded in understanding, but Bubbles giggled and grinned back happily at the idea of getting to play the game. "I'm Coach Maxi." He told them.  
  
"I'll see you girls after practice then, I'll be back at the house in my lab." The Professor told them with a smile. "Now you all be good and listen to the coach okay?" He said with a very specific glare at Buttercup.  
  
"We will Professor." The Powerpuff Girls replied innocently. Buttercup crossed her arms at the implication that she specifically would raise some kind of hell, but she didn't really protest. The Professor smiled before he turned to head back to the car, leaving the girls alone with the coach.  
  
"Well come on, you two can be on the red team..." He told Blossom and Buttercup. "And you can be on the blue team." He told Bubbles with a smile. The girls all nodded enthusiastically before they rushed to their places to wait for further instructions. There was a hushed chatter among the crowd of little girls, though there was some not so hushed chatter as well. It quieted down only slightly when the coach stepped up to begin the practice.  
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As the hours designated for the practice withered away the girls found themselves getting more and more caught up in simply playing and being with others like normal little girls. They'd never really just been among them before, always using their powers to seem fancy or impress everyone else. This was a great feeling that they really enjoyed. They were more than a little disappointed when the coach blew the whistle to bring this session to an end.  
  
"Alright you all did great today, I'm really impressed." A lot of the girls blushed at the flattery while others, specifically Buttercup, just grinned and flexed their muscles proudly. "We'll meet back here tomorrow at the same time, you all have a good night." He smiled and nodded gently as the girls turned to head tot heir separate homes. Some girls went toward the street where their parents were waiting to pick them up.  
  
Before they could take off Coach Maxi walked up to the Powerpuff Girls with a small smile on his face. "Bubbles, I was really impressed with the way you handled the ball today." He told her.  
  
"Really? Awww well I was just havin' fun..." Bubbles blushed brightly and ran one foot along the ground nervously.  
  
"What do you mean SHE was doing good? I was running circles around her!" Buttercup complained when she didn't get all the praise. Blossom smacked her in the shoulder warningly before she could say anything else. The brunette puff huffed angrily and held her shoulder where she'd been hit, but didn't comment further.  
  
The coach just smiled and patted Buttercups head to calm her down before turning back to Bubbles. "I just wanted to see if you'd be right for a more advanced class if you want to come let me check you out. You know, see if you're fit to do it." He told her.  
  
"Really!? Wow! Okay!" Bubbles exclaimed excitedly. She turned to her sisters quickly. "Tell the Professor I'll be home before dinner time." She said with a grin.  
  
"Sure, no problem. Hope you make it." Blossom replied with a smile before she turned and dragged Buttercup away from the field. Once they were gone the coach took Bubbles hand and gently led her into the small gym building. Bubbles skipped happily as she went, humming to herself and looking around with all the curiosity of a child her age.  
  
"Have you ever played soccer before? You seem quite good at it." The coach asked companionably. "Either you've played before or you're just a natural."  
  
Bubbles giggled and blushed again with a demure smirk on her face. "Hehe... nope, never have." She replied. She smiled up at him widely as they reached a locker room in the back. There were no games today so it was completely deserted.  
  
"I see. Well then I guess you were just born to play. Sit down over here." He told her, gesturing to a bench beside the lockers. Bubbles complied, throwing herself onto it from where she stood more than ten feet away. The coach smiled and walked over top sit beside her, looking down at her. "So you don't know how this testing works then huh?"  
  
"No, I'm afraid not... I'm kind of nervous." Bubbles admitted sheepishly as she looked around at the room like it would provide some measure of comfort.  
  
"Well you don't have to worry about a thing." Coach Maxi assured her as his hands wandered up to her hair. She blinked and watched curiously as they undid her ponytails, letting her blond hair fall about her shoulders in a small wave. He ran his fingers through it slowly, almost like he was enjoying it.  
  
"Awww it takes a long time to get it that way." Bubbles said sadly. The coach chuckled and stroked her cheek gently.  
  
"You can fix it later." He told her. She watched his hands curiously as they went down to the rim of her shirt, grabbing it and beginning to pull it up over her stomach...  
  
"No..." Bubbles blushed brightly and put her arms down, halting the shirt before it could go too high. She was a little girl, but she was also twenty times stronger than he was. There was no way he could make her do anything she resisted.  
  
"I have to see how your body looks so I know if you're fit enough to play on a more advanced team." The coach informed her smoothly. Bubbles looked up at him nervously, but finally decided he wouldn't do anything if it wasn't necessary. She was supposed to trust him after all. So she put her arms up and let him pull her shirt off, leaving her topless on the bench.  
  
Self consciously Bubbles put her arms across her chest and swung her legs back and forth off the seat. The coach chuckled and gently pulled her arms away from her, looking at her and genuinely looking like he was just checking to see how she looked. After a few minutes she finally relaxed a bit, smiling up at him again as she had been before.  
  
"You look very good and strong, I just have to have a look at your legs and that will be all... but I don't have to if you're TOO nervous." He told her with an understanding tone of voice.  
  
"My legs? Um..." Bubbles looked down at her shorts a bit worriedly, but finally sighed and looked back up at him. "No it's alright, I want to know if I can do it." She told him. It never did occur to her that with her powers she could take on an entire grown-up team by herself. Such was the naïveté of youth.  
  
"Alright, stand up." He told her. Obediently Bubbles stood up on the bench and watched with red cheeks as he pushed her shorts and blue panties down, leaving her in nothing but her shoes and socks. She felt rather silly and a bit nervous, she'd never been naked in front of anyone but her sisters and the Professor before.  
  
"Mmhmm... as I thought." Coach Maxi said as he ran one hand along her chest and stomach, running down to her legs and gently running his hand along her thighs.  
  
"Wh... what...?" Bubbles asked nervously. She didn't want to seem like a scared little baby though, so she didn't complain.  
  
"You're one of the strongest little girls I've ever seen." He told her with a comforting smile. Bubbles relaxed slightly and smiled back as much as she could make herself. She really wanted to get dressed and go home now, but she wouldn't until he was finished examining her. She watched him as his hands slid along her smooth young skin, searching seemingly every facet of her until she felt one hand run up between her legs.  
  
"Uummm..." Bubbles' face blushed bright red and she felt even more nervous. The coach put one hand to her lips and spoke reassuringly.  
  
"It's alright, I'm just checking you." He told her again, not taking his hand off of her mouth. She breathed a bit more heavily, feeling the fear growing inside of her. Still she kept herself in check however, he wouldn't do anything bad to her, and the Professor told her to listen to him. So she tried to stay as calm and still as she could as she felt his hands probing around her, confusing her and sending various feelings running through her at the same time. She really had no idea what this was, but she didn't really like it.  
  
"There, finished." Coach Maxi told her finally as he pulled his hands away from her. She was shaking by the time he released her, but she gave him a nervous smile. "Go ahead and get dressed, you can go home. Oh but don't tell anyone about this until I get the test results in, okay? It'll be a little surprise for the others." He reminded her with a steady smile.  
  
"O... okay..." Bubbles agreed as she went about getting dressed again. The coach left without another word before she had even gotten her clothing all the way on again. She was able to make herself look halfway normal with the clothing, but she couldn't fix her hair up in her standard pigtails by herself. She would just have to go home with it down like this.  
  
She couldn't even make her legs stop shaking enough to walk out of the building, so she floated through the air toward her house more slowly than she generally did. She was confused... she couldn't figure out just what had happened. Well she would just have to trust the coach. After all, the Professor had said. He wouldn't do anything bad to her, she was sure of it.  
  
It was all she could do to stop the shaking in her limbs as she pushed the front door open and floated inside, closing it behind her. She found Blossom and Buttercup in the living room watching cartoons while the Professor was undoubtedly still in his basement lab. Her sisters looked back at hr as Bubbles floated over to the couch.  
  
"Hey, how'd it go?" Blossom asked curiously. Bubbles barely registered the question since her head was swimming so much.  
  
"Oh it was... I think it went good. He said I look strong, but I shouldn't tell anyone about it until we know..." Bubbles replied innocently as she let herself drop onto the cushion beside her redheaded sister.  
  
"Well that sounds like a good sign to me." Blossom looked over at her sister with a smile. It quickly turned into a worried frown however when she saw the blond puffs face. "Are you alright Bubbles?" She asked with concern plain in her voice and manner.  
  
"Yeah I'm just fine..." Bubbles replied with a vigor she certainly didn't feel. "I think I'm going to go upstairs and play with Octi for awhile..." She pushed herself up from the couch and floated upstairs away from her sisters' concerned gazes.  
  
As she floated past the bathroom she caught a glimpse of herself in the mirror. Her face was somewhat pale and her hair was hanging around her head in a tangle she hadn't realized was there before. No wonder they'd been caught off guard, she'd be suspicious of her too if she were them.  
  
She shook her head slightly as she went in her room and shut the door behind her, locking it before floating over to the bed and throwing herself on it. She just wanted to lie down for awhile and sort everything out. It seemed so weird...  
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"Is it me, or did Bubbles look a little under the weather?" Blossom asked her brunette sibling once Bubbles had disappeared up the stairs.  
  
"A little I guess, maybe it was just a really hard test?" Buttercup suggested with a shrug of her shoulders.  
  
"I don't know, we were playing soccer all day and hardly broke a sweat. Then suddenly something that took fifteen minutes drained her? I think something's up..." Blossom replied suspiciously.  
  
"Ah she knows she can come to us or the Professor if something's wrong, why pry if there's no real reason to think something's going on?"  
  
"Yeah I guess you're right..." Blossom said resignedly. "If she needs help she'll ask for it... I just hope she knows when she needs help..." She whispered to herself worriedly as she looked back at the staircase. She would just have to keep an eye on Bubbles for a little while and see if anything happened.  
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The next few days passed without incident though Blossom did notice a distinct lack of bounce in Bubbles' step. The blond haired puff would often simply stare out into space blankly or stumble into something like she wasn't really thinking about it. It was clear something was bothering her, but the PPG leader couldn't even begin to guess what it was. All she knew was the more it happened the more worried she got. Even Buttercup seemed to be showing more concern as time went on.  
  
"Alright good job girls, good job." Coach Maxi said with a grin as they reached the end of the final practice of the week. "Now remember to keep practicing your kicks over the weekend so we'll be ready to go right from the start on Monday." He told them just before the parents' cars started to show up. The Powerpuff Girls started to fly away, but his voice behind them stopped them. "Bubbles, I need to speak to you!"  
  
"Oh?" Bubbles voice shook slightly even with that little exclamation. Still she turned and floated back down to him, but both of her sisters watched very carefully to see what happened. They weren't going to leave her alone this time.  
  
They didn't really have a choice though since the coach just stared up at them balefully. They exchanged a wry glance and floated off... but only across the field where they hid behind some equipment, Their hyper-sensitive hearing could still pick up every word they spoke on the other end of the playground.  
  
"Bubbles, it seems those tests weren't good enough. We need to do it again I think." Coach Maxi said steadily.  
  
"A... again?" Bubbles asked with a shaking voice. "I don't know coach, I think maybe I want to just stay here with my sisters..." Blossom and Buttercup exchanged a curious glance at this. Bubbles was normally not one to shy away from something new whether they were there or not. Something was definitely wrong.  
  
"Well it's your choice of course Bubbles, but I wouldn't want you to waste your talent and skip all the exciting things just because you're a little nervous. It's okay to not be sure, but you can't let that stop you." The Coach said smoothly... a little too smoothly for Blossom's tastes.  
  
"Well... o..." Bubbles was interrupted when the hotline phone inside Pokey Oaks kindergarten went off. It was rather far away, but their hearing could pick it up easily enough.  
  
"Saved by the bell..." Buttercup muttered as she shot a glance over at Blossom. The redhead nodded and they streaked back over to Bubbles and Coach Maxi very suddenly. They startled him enough to make him jump and drop Bubbles who he'd apparently picked up to carry into the building if he had to.  
  
"Come on Bubbles, we have to save the town." Blossom told her sister quickly, though her eyes never left Coach Maxi's. He stared back up at her calmly, like nothing unusual was going on at all.  
  
"We'll have to do it later coach, I have to go!" Bubbles voice was practically dripping with relief as she spoke. Before he could even reply the Powerpuff Girls streaked into the air in flashed of pink, green, and blue. Blossom and Buttercup studied Bubbles carefully as they flew. The blond puff seemed shaken just from that encounter... just what did this 'test' entail?  
  
Blossom didn't have much time to dwell on it. A mini-van practically bursting with jewelry was tearing down the street away from them. "Buttercup, cut them off, Bubbles, keep an eye on them from above. Operation slippinslide." Blossom said quickly. Buttercup took off down a side street in a flash while Bubbles streaked up right over the fan.  
  
Blossom flew to the side of the van and took a deep breath. When she let it out it was coated with a freezing cold fog that instantly turned the street ahead of the van into a patch of ice. Bubbles above the van used her heat vision to melt the ice, making an extremely slippery, but not speed enhancing, street. The van's wheels skidded dangerously as they splashed through the water, losing all sense of traction.  
  
Buttercup was already waiting down the street as the van barreled toward her out of control. She streaked right toward it, slamming her shoulder into the front and bringing it to a screeching halt right there in the street. Nearly all of the vans occupants were knocked out in the collision, but Buttercup herself was unscathed except a few cuts in her dress from the steel.  
  
"Good job girls." Blossom said proudly as the three floated up to each other above the now ruined van. They could already hear police sirens approaching fast, so they streaked off into the sky in order to get home. They were already later than they promised the Professor they would be.  
  
As they flew Blossom streaked up right beside Bubbles, looking at her seriously. "Bubbles, we need to talk in private once we get home." She said more sternly than the blond puff had ever seen. She nodded back solemnly just before they reached the house and floated inside. The Professor was already in the kitchen making dinner when he heard them come in.  
  
"Hello girls, did you have a good day?" He called amiably from the kitchen.  
  
"Oh yeah. Yeah it was pretty good, very... enlightening." Blossom said as she glared at Bubbles. The blue eyed puff gulped and looked down nervously.  
  
"That's super, dinner will be ready in just a little while. Why don't you three go get washed up?" Professor Utonium suggested.  
  
"Okay Professor." The girls said in unison before they floated up the stairs. Once they were in their room Buttercup and Blossom whirled on their sister sternly. Bubbles just looked back and forth between them with her hands behind her back. After a few minutes she looked down and ran her foot along the carpet nervously.  
  
"Bubbles..." Blossom breathed with a small sigh. "What's been going on these last few days? What happened, you haven't been yourself and we've been worried."  
  
"Nothing happened..." Bubbled replied softly. "I'm fine, I just don't want to act like a baby."  
  
"What are you talking about? You always act like a baby." Buttercup reminded her, earning a swift smack from Blossom. She turned back to the blond puff while Buttercup rubbed her cheek grumpily.  
  
"Bubbles I'm sorry if we seem stern right now but we've really been worried... did Coach Maxi do something?" Blossom asked carefully.  
  
"It was just a test and stuff, I shouldn't act like a baby about it..." Bubbles said softly. The others might not have heard it at all if they didn't have super hearing.  
  
"What did he do Bubbles? What kind of test was it?" Blossom asked worriedly. Bubbles blushed and looked away from the nervously. "Bubbles what did he... do?"  
  
"It's nothing okay?" Bubbles replied firmly. I'm going to go wash up for dinner." Before either of the others could say anything she streaked past them in a flash of blue light, heading into the bathroom. Blossom and Buttercup stared after her, then exchanged another worried glance. Coach Maxi was definitely the source of this, there was no doubt of it now. Unfortunately they couldn't tell anyone about it until they had an idea just what he did. They couldn't just beat him up with no apparent reason either. They'd have to keep a very sharp eye out.  
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The next day everything was as it had been for the last week. By now even the Professor was getting very worried about Bubbles' absent-minded attitude. She practically ignored his questions about what was wrong with her, simply saying everything was fine over and over until he just let it drop. All three of the girls were caught off guard when Coach Maxi came by later in the evening.  
  
"Hello coach, this is a pleasant surprise." Professor Utonium said as he stepped back to let the coach in. Blossom and Buttercup exchanged a meaningful glance while Bubbles simply stared up at him blankly. "Come on in."  
  
"No thanks, I was just wondering if my star player would le to go out for some ice-cream?" Coach Maxi said as he looked down at Bubbles with the biggest dashing smile any of them had ever seen. Professor Utonium looked down at his blond daughter while she just looked back and forth from one to the other.  
  
"What do you say Bubbles?" The Professor asked with an amiable smile. Blossom and Buttercup both mentally pleaded with their sister to refuse, but Bubbles was way too polite to refuse a gift from someone she knew and considered a friend.  
  
"Alright, sure..." Bubbles agreed with a slow nod. Professor Utonium smiled happily and turned to the coach, whispering to him.  
  
"She's been feeling a little down lately, maybe you can cheer her up." He said conspiratorially.  
  
"I'm sure I'll think of something." Coach Maxi replied with a wry smirk as he reached down to take Bubbles' hand gently.  
  
"Can we go?" Blossom asked suddenly, drawing glances from everyone else in the room. "We like ice-cream too, right Buttercup?" She said meaningfully.  
  
"Uh... yeah of course we do. I could use some ice-cream." Buttercup agreed.  
  
"You two still have to clean your room." Professor Utonium told them sternly. They exchanged a dark glance which he caught. "Now you can't deny your responsibilities every time a treat comes along, up to your rooms and I'll tae you both out when you're finished." He told them reasonably.  
  
"See you guys..." Bubbles said softly before the door shut behind her and Coach Maxi. Blossom and Buttercup stared out the window helplessly as they watched the coach's car pull out of the driveway and drive off into the night.  
  
"Professor can we..." Blossom began.  
  
"Now Blossom you know the rules, you have to finish your chores and save the day before you can go out and play." Professor Utonium told her sternly. "The sooner you finish your room the sooner you can go play." He told them.  
  
Blossom and Buttercup folded their arms across their chests darkly as they floated up the stairs. God only knew what was happening to Bubbles right now. They had to finish quickly and find them before something bad happened... again.  
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Bubbles stared out the drivers' side window at the golden-hued sky with a nervous expression on her face. This was the first time she'd been alone with him since the test... and she really didn't want to take another one. She didn't care how strong or good she was, she just didn't want another test.  
  
She breathed a sigh of relief when she saw them pulling up in front of an ice-cream store near the edge of the town. Maybe they really were just coming for ice-cream... she would really like that. She loved ice-cream. She looked up at Coach Maxi as he opened her door and smiled, holding his hand out to her. She smiled back somewhat and took it, hopping out of the car. He closed and locked the door quickly before they went into the ice-cream shop.  
  
"What would you like Bubbles?" The coach asked her as they walked up to the counter. Bubbles floated up to the plastic window and looked in at all the different flavors. She picked a chocolate ice-cream cone with strawberry sprinkles on top. They purchased the ice cream and she happily licked away at it as they went back out to the car. At this rate it wouldn't be such a bad night after all. Maybe that HAD just been a normal test she wouldn't have to take again if she wanted.  
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Green and pink strips of light were tearing through the Powerpuff Girls bedroom, tearing the entire place up as fast as they fixed it up in their haste to get finished and begin their search for Bubbles. Finally Blossom stopped and watched Buttercup for a few moments before she finally realized what was going on.  
  
"Slow down Buttercup!" Blossom shouted quickly.  
  
"What? If we don't hurry something could happen to Bubbles!" Buttercup complained.  
  
"I know, but we're tearing everything up as quickly as we clean it. We'll never finish at this rate. We need to be fast but careful at the same time!" She said sternly. Buttercup rolled her eyes, but nodded in agreement.  
  
"Fine, but if Bubbles is dead or something when we find her it's on YOUR head." She said before she went back to cleaning, slightly slower than before. Blossom started zipping along beside her sister, praying to anybody who could listen that it wouldn't come to that.  
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Bubbles licked at her ice-cream happily as the car rolled along the relatively smooth city streets. She wasn't really paying attention to the surroundings outside the car until she felt an unusually big bump in the road. She stood up and looked out her window to see they were leaving the city proper. She blinked in confusion, then looked back at Coach Maxi.  
  
He smiled back reassuringly and gestured for her to sit down again. "I'm just going somewhere you can enjoy the view. Your Professor said you've been upset lately, I thought I'd cheer you up." He told her with a smile. She smiled back nervously and sat back down. By now she wasn't at all sure what he should think.  
  
She had the ice-cream cone gone by the time they reached this lookout spot Coach Maxi had talked about. The car jerked to a stop and the coach jut sat staring out the front windshield. Bubbles floated up out of her seat to look out the windshield as well.  
  
It was a truly spectacular view as he'd promised. The golden sun glinted off of the windows and roofs of the city buildings far below them in an amazing light show that no fireworks display could hope to match. Of course Bubbles had seen the city from above more times than she could count, but she'd never stopped and just looked at it before. It took her breath away to see the city like this. It was like something she'd never seen before, almost alive.  
  
"Beautiful..." She muttered as she stared out the windshield at the city in utter awe. She looked over at Coach Maxi beside her to see him staring at her with a soft smile on his face. She gulped and blushed a bit as he leaned toward her. She wasn't sure what this was, this was new, so she just floated there until his face neared hers... and he kissed her.  
  
Bubbles blinked in confusion, taken aback by this turn of events. As far as she knew people only mommies and daddies kissed like this, so what was going on here? She couldn't even begin to figure out what was going on, let alone think of a plan. So she just hung limply in his arms as he pulled her a bit closer to him.  
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The few minutes it took to finish their room seemed like a few eternities before Blossom and Buttercup finally streaked out into the evening sky faster than they'd ever moved before. "Split up Buttercup! Search everywhere that serves ice-cream in the city!" Blossom shouted above the roaring of the wind in their ears. Buttercup nodded back and they split up, streaking above the city in what would seem like a random pattern to any onlooker.  
  
In under five minutes they had the entire city searched, with not a trace of them anywhere. "Damnit! Where could he take her where there are no people?" Buttercup asked.  
  
"The only place is... outside the city limits. Come on, we have to hurry NOW!" Blossom said before they took off across the sky gain. The busy city streets and buildings below them quickly gave way to gravel and undeveloped land. They scanned everything they could see for any signs of their sister or the coach, but nothing seemed to offer.  
  
"Coach Maxi's car!" Buttercup shouted, pointing ahead of them. Blossom looked where her sister pointed intently, sending her vision much farther than any normal person's could go. Indeed, at this distance she could only make out the general make and model, but she recognized it as his car.  
  
"Come on Buttercup, put it in overdrive!" Blossom said as she sped ahead of her sister. They were still a good distance away, but they were on the right trail now at least.  
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Bubbles' mind was reeling with thoughts and exclamations and panic and fear all rolled up into one incomprehensible little ball of emotion she couldn't sort out for the life of her. She could feel Coach Maxi's hands pulling her dress over her shoulders, pawing at her chest and stomach as they went down to her tights and slipped inside of them.  
  
"No no..." Bubbles finally gathered herself enough to speak and push at him.  
  
"Relax Bubbles, it's alright." He told her reassuringly.  
  
"No... NO!" In a furious panic Bubbles shoved him away from her as hard as she could. He flew across the car and slammed into the car door... then flew out as the door itself snapped right off of its hinges from the force. He slammed into the ground hard with a painful grunt. Then he pushed himself up to his hands and knees, glaring at Bubbles angrily.  
  
"Do you want me to tell your Professor you're being disobedient?" He demanded angrily.  
  
"N... no..." Bubbles said fearfully. She hated having the Professor upset with her, and he told her to listen to the coach. She didn't want to be touched like that though... what was she supposed to do?  
  
"Well then just relax, don't worry about it." He told her as he walked up to the car again, this time he grabbed her foot and dragged her onto the drivers seat. He quickly yanked her tights off, leaving her once again naked in front of him, and lying down.  
  
Bubbles couldn't stop shaking with thoughts more confused than anything she'd ever known. She didn't know what was going on but she knew she didn't like it, but the Professor told her to listen to him. She couldn't disobey the Professor, he would be so disappointed and upset with her...  
  
"You... sick... FREAK!" A piercing scream erupting from the air above the car just before a green streak of light slammed into Coach Maxi's chest. The blow sent him sliding along the dirt after the loud crack of his back hitting the ground. He screamed in pain until he finally stopped. He was still breathing though his face was twisted painfully.  
  
"Bubbles... are you alright?" Blossom asked worriedly as she put her hands on the blond puffs shoulders and helped her out of the car. Bubbles put her arms around her still naked body against the growing night chill as she stood up, looking over at her sisters. Both of them looked like they were about to burst from the look of anger and hatred in their eyes.  
  
"Y... yeah..." Bubbles said as she bent down to try and grab her panties from the ground. She managed to get them, but her hands were shaking too much to really do much with them, so Blossom took them and helped her put them back on along with the rest of her clothing. When she was clothed again they turned to Coach Maxi, who was still lying on the ground limply.  
  
"I say we throw him off the cliff." Buttercup answered the unasked question. "Sick weirdo freak..."  
  
"Killing isn't the Powerpuff Way Buttercup, it's our obligation to call the cops and have him sent to the proper authorities." Blossom said as she floated over to the wounded man. She picked him up by the collar roughly and looked him in the eye. "Of course, I think a safety precaution is in order to make sure he doesn't try it again." She said darkly.  
  
"You wouldn't... do anything to me..." Maxi said with a knowing grin.  
  
"What're you gonna do Blossom?" Buttercup asked curiously. Bubbles was still too shaken to talk too much, so she just sat on the ground at the foot of the car, resting.  
  
"This..." Blossom said as she reached down and grabbed something else on Maxi's body. He winced in pain, then his wince slowly turned into a mask of utter pain and humiliation until finally his scream of sheer torture was accompanied by the sounds of flesh and sinew snapping and coming apart. She dropped him to the ground while her sisters looked on in awe.  
  
"Now we call the cops." Blossom told her sisters as she walked over to Bubbles. She helped her still weak kneed sister up before they took off from the lookout spot into the city itself. It would probably be awhile before the police arrived to arrest him, but it was okay, he could just stew for awhile as far as they cared. This was one criminal Blossom had no trouble leaving behind.  
________________________________________________________________________________  
  
"I... I just didn't want to say no because you told me to listen to him and he'd tell you I said no and you'd get mad at me..." Bubbles explained when she got home with her sisters. "I didn't want to disappoint you..." Her voice wavered violently as she spoke and she sniffled sadly. She was prepared for a chiding or something, but instead the Professor reached down and pulled her into a gentle hug.  
  
"I'm sorry Bubbles... I had no idea this had happened..." He said as he ran his hand through her hair. She had her face buried in his shoulder with her arms around his neck. "It'll be alright you won't have to ever see him again I promise..." He assured her.  
  
"It's sad to think people like that actually exist... we've never had anyone like that in Townsville before." Buttercup mused to herself. "He's worse than a hundred Mojo Jojo's or a dozen Him's..."  
  
"Yeah well I guess all we can do is warn everyone about what to look for... what NOT to let happen." Blossom agreed. "Bubbles didn't even have any idea that what was happening was very very bad. I swear it took everything I had to not just throw him off the cliff like you said."  
  
"Not too late, we could bust him out and drop him off now." Buttercup suggested.  
  
"No..." Bubbles said from the Professor's arms. "I'm sorry I lied to everyone and I'm sorry I didn't tell you about what happened... I shouldn't have hid it." Bubbles said sadly. "I just didn't know what to do..."  
  
"It's alright dear... it's partially my fault for trusting him so much with my babies just because he was chosen to lead a team. I thought nobody who would do this could have that kind of position but... I guess I was wrong." He said apologetically.  
  
"As long as it never happens again." Blossom said with a wry smirk. "And I can tell you for sure it won't... at least with THAT guy."  
  
Nobody else saw fit to respond to that, because there was really nothing left to say. Sometimes ignorance and naïveté are all a man needs to take advantage of even the normally strongest child. Only making the child aware of these possibilities will make them able to tell what is going on. No matter how unpleasant it may be, it has to be done. Or else any child can be taken advantage of or done in by their own innocence when it is betrayed.  
  
THE END 


End file.
